NSA Surveillance

CDT is leading efforts to rein in the NSA and protect our fundamental privacy and free expression rights.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is collecting the telephony metadata of everyone in the United States. This mass surveillance program has been roundly criticized by companies, civil society groups, other government bodies, and many Members of Congress. Our bottom line is that bulk collection of all kinds of data by the government must end and we are fighting to make it stop.

After Congress failed to act in 2014, the new Congress has begun to debate ways to rein in the NSA. The most troubling authority under which mass surveillance is conducted is Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which is set to expire on June 1, 2015. CDT is advocating for major reform to Section 215 to end bulk collection of communications records. Full reauthorization is not an option. The re-introduced USA FREEDOM Act is the best current path forward for Section 215 reform. With the House passing the USA FREEDOM Act, the Senate needs to pass it or Section 215 sunsets.

This page includes key resources about the NSA surveillance programs and the reforms we are advocating.

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